welcome back to "newsline." i'm yuko aotani in tokyo. japan nationalized their senkaku island two weeks ago. china and taiwan claimed the territory in the east china sea. >> the island are inherently chinese territory. japan stole them in 195 near --.

>> japan's purchase of the island violates chinese sovereignty. he says the move challenges the international order of the post-world war ii period and u.n. charter. he urged the japanese to correct their mistakes and solve the matter through dialogue. the senior spokesperson for the japanese government contradicted the arguments. >> china's claim is groundless. we will make objections when the opportunity arises. >> u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton has again urged her chinese counterparts to try to calm the walters. clinton met with foreign minister in new york. state department officials say she repeated her view that cool heads should prevail. clinton reportedly said, china and japan have the resources, restraint and ability to reduce

tensions. the officials did not say how he responded. chin eaese leaders have complai about washington's stance that they're covered by the security treaty. >> a man who helped shape foreign policy has a similar message. richard armitage was an add voicer to george w. bush. >> reporter: he is urging japanese and chinese leaders to bring calm to the situation. >> i think japan should do what japan can do to cool tempers to explain to the public what is at stake here. i do realize this is a difficult time for japan because of what will be impending elections but also difficult for china. because of her impending power

transfer. not elections. so i think if that can be put in the mind of people, clearly, then we will have enough time to be able to resolve this in a -- in a reasonable way. >> armitage says the job of the u.s. is to keep the temperature cool. as lope as pw as possible. he points out american officials are actively working behind the scenes. >> and i know the government of the united states is -- quietly talking with japan, talking with china, to try to -- move the issue to a quieter place. and that's exactly right. if it were to blow up it would be a failure of u.s. dip policemen see, failed our ally japan and our growing relationship with china. >> armitage's view reflects growing concern among american officials. the u.s. government maintains a neutral stance on the

sovereignty of the senkaku island. but because japan controls the territo territory, japan, u.s. security treaty obligation extend to the islands. chinese vessels have been navigating watters arou earwalt around the islands. the absence of dialogue and the crisis management mechanism could lead to unintended consequences. which could mean the united states would not be able to stay neutral. junko tanaka, nhk world, washington. a member of the standing committee and met with a dell gaegs of japanese lawmakers and

representati representatives. japan criticize ford going ahead with the purchase of the island. he said that put relations in an unprecedented situation. the country normalized diplomatic ties 40 years ago. jao said the relations have seen six nif can't development during the time and hatch brought great benefits to both countries. tension in the room was extremely hype. former foreign minister quotes saying japan should take measures to correct the current circumstances. >> what its needed most is that leaders of both nations talk in a diligent and calm manner. >> kono said heap stre strelsed importance of business back to normal as soon as possible. now, japanese and chinese were to have spent this week

celebrating, the anniversary. they established diplomatic relations in september, 1972. but organizers in beijing canceled the main ceremony. the view from there. violent anti-japan demonstrations raised across china this month. many chinese people support the involvement against japan. some are calling from restraint from both sides. >> translator: the islands are definitely china's. no matter what japan says. we chinese have a mission and responsibility to defend our territorial integrity. >> i have high expectations for friendly china japan ties because we are neighbors. while you can choose your friend, you cannot choose your neighbors. so neighbors are like your

relatives. >> how do chinese people, who have been involved in changes see the relation snp -- relationship? when the two countries normalized relations in 1972. he witnessed the signing of historic joint statement. for the past 40 years engaged in various exchange programs with jap japan. she has translated numerous japanese economic policies into chinese. >> i can't tell you how sorry i feel. i am even saddened to see years and years of hard work to nurture ties by my father, his

colleagues, and by us. crumble so easily. >> even if official relations are strained, it is important for friends in both countries to keep visiting each other and to continue to build the tie ties. >> translator: people from both countries did manage to overcome the difficulties. they built trust and achieved normalization. both side should recall the period that led to normalization. then they could share their wisdom and advance talks aimed at resolving the current problems. it is ironic that bilateral ties have plunged to their lowest level in this landmark year. people ein china, devoted to it are pinning their hopes on

private citizens to maintain friendly relations. another private citizen is making similar efforts on the other side of the east china sea. japanese woman started working to improve relations even before their country established diplomatic ties. nhk world's correspondent has her story. >> reporter: a 79-year-old volunteer with japan-china friendship association. at that time, very few japanese studied mandarin. she would visit chinese cargo vessels to practice. she trsh oeasures her collectio cards from her chinese crew friend. >> translator: my chinese was not good so we communicated in writing. it was really fun.

>> reporter: her studies in chinese history and language led to grassroots exchanges. as an association member, she supported, young chinese people studying in japan. she would invite them home for dinner, become their guarantor, even open her home to them. she also taught japanese at a language school in china. a >> reporter: i was impressed by the students avidly studying in dim light in a freezing schoolroom. >> also a member of a group that studies. five members had planned to go to china in the middle of this month to participate in the forum. but the forum was canceled amid the violent demonstrations occurring across china. members decided to go to shanghai anyway to see what it was really like.

ordinary chinese people were helpful. correcting our pro funs yags. felt no hostility. and enjoyed the friendly atmosphere. >> members met their counterparts who have taken part in the forum. this woman says the leader of the group. apologized to them. and cried about being helpless to prevent the cancellation. the chinese people we met, said, when the political situation gets bad it is always the people who suffer. so i want politics to be staebl. stable. the members now hope to travel to china and at every opportunity to expand the friendship network. no matter what the political situation is, we are determined to continue bridging the gap with japan-china exchanges. i would look more chinese people

to come to japan to communicate with ordinary japanese. now researching the hiss ttoric relationship. she well publish her guidebook in japanese and chinese. she hopes it will help deepen understanding between china and japan. a plane bound for the mt. everest region crashed shortly after takeoff from the nepalese capital, katmandu. all 19 on board were killed. the plane crashed then burst into flames in the early morning hours. aviation authorities say all 16 passengers and three crew

members were killed. domestic carriers operated the aircraft. it was taking passengers to a gateway to mt. everest. the flight is freak wentfrequeny sight sears and climbers from overseas. israel's prime minister says time is running out for the international community to act before iran gets a nuclear weapon. netanyahu made the remark in his address to the u.n. general assembly. >> there is only one way to peacefully prevent iran from getting atomic bombs. and that is by placing a clear red line. >> netanyahu says iran could have enough enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon in less than ape year. he says he sees the program as a threat to israeli security. netanyahu says international sanctions against the iranians have failed to get them to abandon their nuclear ambitions. he says, that only by laying

down an ult imatum will leaders in tehran dismantle their program. president of the palestinian authority says he will call on the united nations to upgrade the status of the palestinians from observer entity to observer state. mahmoud abbas revealed the plan when he addressed the general assembly. abbas said palestinians have begun consultations with member staets to have general assembly adopt a resolution. palestinian authority applied for full membership as an independent state. they stalled negotiations in the security council. the palestinians are askingasse plan. resolutions are adopted by a majority vote in the assembly while permanent security council members have veto power. vatican city is the only u.n. observer state. if the palestinians receive observer status, state status, rather. that they might be able to join

u.n. agencies including international criminal court. nhk's correspondent in new york says the palestinians hope such support from the international community will put pressure on israel to resume peace negotiations. united nations official says the refugee crisis in syria may be even worse than expected. the continuity of the open border policy and generosity given by host communities, that offer stretched limited resources to continue receiving refugees is important. it's national solidarity to help them cope. it is really crucial. almost 300,000 syrians have crossed the border into turkey, lebanon and other countries. two to three thousand more leave every day. u.n. agencies are distributing food at refugee camps and trying

to prevent outbreaks. spain released its austerity budget plan for next year. it pro poposed a reduction thro spending cuts and tax hikes. spanish treasury minister announced the 2013 draft budget on thursday following cabinet approval. under the plan, ministries are to cut their budgets by an average of 8.9%. public sector labor costs reduced by 3.9% through salary freezes. the aim is to reduce the fiscal deficit by $39 billion. this will be achieved through an increase in the value-added tax rate introduced early this month. and a new tax on lottery winners. with the new budget the government aims to cut the deficit to 4.5% of the gross domestic product in 2013.

it aims to lower the rate to less than 3% in 2014 to fulfill its pledge to the european union. but observers say the government may face difficulties to achieve its reduction target this year. they cite sluggish growth in tax revenue due to deteriorating economy that is worse than many analysts had expected. the world's auto makers unveiled their next generation eco-friendly concept cars at the paris motor show. the exhibition opened to the media on thursday, over 270 companies are taking part this year. germany's porsche and bmw debuted concept cars with eco friendly features. models include plug-in hybrids charged from household power out lets. nissan revealed the concept car, powered by fuel cells. the terra comes with a tablet device that serves as key and dashboard. toyota introduced a hybrid version of the flag ship model.

auto makers are showcasing new compact models. they're hoping to tap into relatively steady demand for fuel efficient vehicles in a shrugger european auto market. nasa rover cure ys tiosity evidence that a stream once flowed on mars. the u.s. space agency has been analyzing images of mars' surface taken by the rover. images released thursday show smooth gravel and stones in the layer of conglomerate rock. the same formations as seen on earth at ancient river sites. mission scientists say the size of the gravel indicates that the stream was fairly shallow between ankle and hip deep and moved at 3 feet per second. they say the first evidence of water transported stones on mars. nasa officials haven't determined how long ago the stream flowed. they say the finding supports the possibility that life once existed on mars.

the japanese electronics makers are facing slumping sales, so they're looking out for new customers. they turned their focus to india. the country's economy is growing, and its people have more money to spend. to get a foothold japanese companies have to compete with their south korean rivals. nhk world has the story. >> reporter: a panasonic researchers walks through an area in new delhi. he's examining the lifestyle. >> translator: they put medicine here. >> reporter: the company faces stiff competition from south korean firms. it spurs oat japanese company. he checks out the refrigerator. >> translator: for about an hour

this pack stops ice cubes from he melting during a power failure. >> reporter: more than 50% of the fridges sold in india are made by south korean countries. they design the devices with india's frequent power failures in mind. panasonic builds its sales plan around the same part of line. the firm is con traiting on air-conditioning. until now, most of the india's air-conditioners have been window units. though they provide cool air, not much daylight gets in. so the japanese firm came up with this model. a small device attacks to the wall.

the rest of the unit sits outdoors. panasonic devised a slogan. we are your window. it attracted shoppers. the percentage of air conditioners the firm sells has risen from 1% to 13%. >> translator: the number of our customers has rapidly increased even in the countryside. >> reporter: to increase sales of higher quality air conditioners, the manufacturer is building a new plant in india. managers hope to start operating this december and produce a million units a year. >> translator: india is the only remaining large market. we're researching the market to make something that hits the right spot with india. >> reporter: japanese tv manufacturers are also trying to make greater inroads here. already indians buy more sony televisions than any other

brand. the driving force behind this success as sony stores, 300 of them are across india. their strategy is not to lower the sales price. the higher price enhances the prestige of the company brand. >> definitely sony i think is the best brand existing in india right now with the technology they have. >> reporter: to make sony's brand even stronger, the company broadcasts on its own tv station. indians enjoy watching the sony channel. >> sony, the brand is carried on all the channels, and it builds an association in the mind of the consumer as a high-quality brand. >> translator: i'm convinced that making products that meet the needs of indians and promoting our brand are

essential to our success. >> reporter: in recent years japanese electronic makers have been struggling worldwide. the key to regaining market share depends on how they prepare in india. >> looks like people in western japan will be dealing with a typhoon this weekend. let's get the latest from sayaka mori in her forecast. >> the typhoon sitting close to japan and the island. 50 millimeters of rain per hour. and 250 millimeters of rain in eastern taiwan over the past 4 hours or so. and gusts hit 126 in the island. still a strong typhoon will likely veer toward the northeast. moving over the okinawa island over the weekend. waves could hit 12 meters. in the springtime. water levels are hiler than usual. so, close to flooding is highly

likely. then by monday morning it could hit western or central japan as a typhoon. usually the strongest wind can be fond und on the eastern half. central japan. tokyo. severely affected by very strong wind next week. as for rainfall -- about 250 millimeters rain is likely in parts of the island and the okinawa island in a 24-hour period. not the cause of flooding. another storm to the south of japan sa japan. severe tropical storm -- ewiniar. and it will move to the northeast. it is pulling away from japan. high waves and rough seas, an ongoing issue across the pacific coast for the next couple days or few days or so. some showers that will continue in the, in parts of eastern half of japan today.

out west this low contenuously bringing thunderstorms in parts of northeastern china, as well as parts of the korean peninsula. well, out toward the west in india. heavy monsoonal showers are affecting the southern half of the country. today heavy rain warnings in police in parts of the southeast. in india. but to the north, dry, monsoonal season has ended. it looks like pakistan is dealing with the flooding situation. let's take a look at this. heavy rains and flash floods wreak havoc in pakistan. deaths reported so far. more than 1,000 injured. the province has been the worst hit with 2,000,0residents mispl. moving into the americas, we can see extensive cloud over mexico. bringing showers here. then we have a long frontal line, stretching from the southern plains into the

mid-atlantic, underneath the system. we are seeing lots of severe weather. we have reports of three tornados touched down in colorado and one in pennsylvania. these locations will remain stormy into tonight. down toward the south. up toward the north. dry. up toward the western half, western u.s. we have got smoke covered over the interior washington and to the north, strong, low moves in. as it does so, rain will weaken. and warm air comes in from the south the temperatures are on the warmer side in vancouver, seattle, as well as winnipeg. to the south, still on the hot side in houston. 31, 32 degrees expected in miami friday. all right, i will leave you now with your extended forecast. ♪ ♪

that is all for now in this edition of news line. i'm am yuko aotani in tokyo.

thank you for joining us.